Real Madrid announce defender will exit club this summer –

After a decade at the club, Real Madrid have announced that Jesus Vallejo will finally be leaving this summer, after multiple seasons with little in the way of game time. The 28-year-old arrived from Real Zaragoza back in 2015 for a €5m free, and will leave at the end of his contract this June.

Vallejo’s career is one of the more curious around, arriving as one of the brightest hopes in Spanish football. He would spend loan spells at Zaragoza, Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolves and Granada during his decade as a Real Madrid player, some of which promising, but he struggled to assert himself consistently.

Real Madrid statement

Los Blancos emitted a statement announcing his exit on Friday, noting his five seasons in a white shirt, where he won 13 trophies, comprised of a Liga, two Champions Leagues, four Club World Cups, three European Supercups, a Copa del Rey and two Spanish Supercups.

“Real Madrid thanks Jesus Vallejo for his professionalism, commitment, and hard work, and wishes him and his family the best in this new stage of his life,” finalised their statement.

Jesus Vallejo statistics

His occasional appearances led to some remarkable statistics, appearing 35 times in his five years, scoring once and assisting once. In total, Vallejo played 2,072 minutes, meaning he averaged silverware every 160 minutes of his Real Madrid career, and every 2.7 appearances. This season Carlo Ancelotti used him four times, amounting to 136 minutes.

Real Madrid options in central defence

While Vallejo was not much of a factor this season, Los Blancos have been desperate to strengthen their backline, and have signed Dean Huijsen for €60m from Bournemouth. He will compete with David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, Raul Asencio and Eder Militao in theory next season, unless there are further exits or additions. Xabi Alonso has few certainties in his backline though, with Alaba and Militao still to show they can get back to their best after serious knee injuries.